1 on 1

Is one on one NL texas holdem a game you can make a lot of money off or is it just luck? I am loseing money playing one on one so does anyone have any tips on succeeding playing one on one poker. I love playing one on one it is very exciting, but i cant seem to make a profit. What hands should i play? What is considered a good hand? Should i raise in first position with low pair?

Are you talking cash games or heads up tourneys

Either way here is some advice.....

If you have Q7 or better in HU play you are likely ahead. I usually feel out the player i am playing before I jusdge how my betting will be against them. Play all PPs aggressive and any As.

I am sure there is better advice out there. Hopefully this is a good starting point.

FYI almost any hand is a good starting hand 1 on 1 so let the betting decide if you stick around pre flop.

Heads up involves playing a lot of hands and I think the cards are a lot less important. You need to beat your opponent more than the cards (excluding any showdowns of course)

Take note of how they play and pick your moments to take their chips.

If they are a very aggressive player then when you make a big hand (wont happen very often) you can usually get paid off quite well.

IF they are cautious you can steal more hands but always remember to watch how your opponent is playing.

Change your style of play through the game. If you start playing aggressively then change to a more passive style and back again. Keep your opponent guessing. If you play the same way every hand you will lose almost all of the time.

Good luck.

Article here.

thanks

this is a great article. i was doing so much wrong

It's definitely more aggressive than a full table, but I'm more of an opportunist HU than a thief/bully. I wait for people to stick their necks out.

In the HU games I play ($10 and lower) people are pretty easy to read so I prefer getting in cheap and outplaying them post flop.
You can see patterns in their betting. When they suddenly bet more, they have a hand and you can fold your non-premium hands.
I am perfectly fine folding top pair in a HU game if I read the guy as strong.

As far as strategy goes, if I'm on the button I'm a *lot* more likely to raise, especially early when the blinds are cheap. I'm raising most hands on the button early on when the blinds are cheap. It's cheap so I can fold my junky hands when challenged, and I'm training them to think that I'm aggressive and probably raise with any two cards.

As the blinds go up I raise substantially less. By then I should have a pretty good idea of how they play, and I can afford to get trappier. I'll even check/call with Ace/King because they don't put me on an Ace (because "everyone" raises with an Ace HU). I've stacked more than one player who's flopped second pair, and shoved because they assumed I couldn't have had the Ace.

How large a factor luck is heads-up depends a lot on the structure, I think. (I'm thinking of how it pertains to tournaments.) Luck is probly less of a factor in cash games assuming there's decent stack sizes.

Btw, I have no good advice. My play lately sux.

this is normally the point where i would give advice, but since i've been spewing money at HU cash the past 15k hands or so, it would be better for me not to

HU can be great, you just have to be willing to go with your reads and play hands aggressively you might normally fold depending on your opponent. Your edge in HU could be huge depending upon who you play obv.

In terms of the 3 tiers of cash play, full ring, 6 max and HU, HU is the most challenging to master and become very profitable at.

I mean the rake is killer at lower HU limits, you must learn to read opponents hands well and still maintain a solid aggression on them and be willing to 3/4bet very light. You can encounter the biggest swings of up/down to your bankroll in HU for sure.

That said, HU the most profitable game to play if you are against the right players. The sheer amount of profit in a short amount of time can be so very sweet.

Its not nearly as forgiving at full ring or 6max so its best that you become very prolific in these first, build a significant bankroll. I dont recommend jumping into the 3rd tier of play that is HU unless you are confident in your game.